All Around Me
by RinSabreDelta
Summary: Natalia was hired at Wayne Enterprises for more than just her assistant skills, and when he gathers the beginnings of the Justice League, she's right there to help. Unfortunately, she never counted on how much of a distraction Arthur Curry would be.
1. Chapter 1

Natalia strode with purpose through Wayne Enterprises, knowing that Bruce would want to get his meeting underway. Being one of only a handful of people who knew exactly what he was up to, she wasn't surprised at how late this meeting was. Indeed, almost everyone had left the office building, making it the perfect location for this. Knocking on his office door, she waited only a moment before entering, spying him at his desk looking over what appeared to be files.

"Mr. Wayne, I believe the first of your guests is here. Shall I escort him to the conference room?" He looked up, brow furrowed with concentration and frustration as was usual, and gave a nod. Giving her own single nod, she stepped back out, shutting the door behind herself. Likely, he would wait until the rest had arrived before going to greet them. As she exited the elevator into the lobby, she took a deep breath, hoping these people he had found were as friendly as their profiles had suggested. It appeared the first arrival was Diana Prince; with a smile, Natalia greeted the woman, who knew exact where she was going and headed up on her own. Not long after, a tall man in glasses and a dress shirt entered, looking around uncertainly.

"Mr. Kent?" His gaze snapped to her, and she put on her best professional smile. "Mr. Wayne was expecting you. If you'll please follow me." She turned and headed back into the elevator, being sure to keep a respectful distance from the man.

"Thank you, Miss...?" He looked down at her with a small smile.

"Natalia Steele. Lovely to meet you." She offered a hand and he took it gently, giving a shake. He nodded, turning to face forward again. As they entered the board room, he seemed to give pause at the sight of Diana, who gave the man a knowing smile. "Can I get you anything, Mr. Kent? Coffee, water?"

"Uh, coffee. Thanks." It appeared as though Diana had helped herself to some coffee, which made her job easier. In a few short minutes, she'd returned with a cup of coffee and some cream and sugar, setting it all in front of him with a small smile. Her watch gave a single vibration, letting her know someone else had arrived. Hurrying back down, she came face to face with young Barry Allen, who gave her an adorably shy smile and easily followed her up. He asked for coffee as well, looking around at the other two in the room with the same shy, excited look. Natalia ended up waiting downstairs for some time for their last guest, though Bruce had warned her he may not immediately arrive, or even at all. After a few minutes, she made her way to the security desk, chatting politely with the officer on duty for tonight.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for Wayne." A deep voice sounded behind her, and she spun around quickly. Light eyes offset by dark hair, with a devilish grin to match. This must be the mysterious Arthur Curry, though the name didn't quite give the full impression of the man himself. She cleared her throat and straightened, giving her usual smile.

"You must be Mr. Curry. If you'll follow me, Mr. Wayne has been expecting you." She moved to walk past him, flinching just a bit when their arms brushed, and headed for the elevator.

"And you are?" His voice was gruff, and she wondered if he'd even really wanted to come. Then again, judging by the look of him, there was likely not much that could be forced upon him. The elevator felt more crowded than usual as they climbed in.

"Natalia Steele. I've been assigned to assist you all in your endeavors." She could feel him staring down at her, and she busied herself with notifying Bruce of everyone's arrival. As they stepped off and headed to the conference room, she chanced a glance at the man. "Would you care for anything? Coffee, water?" She opened the door, waving him in ahead of her.

"Whiskey." His voice, still gruff, had somehow become more cold as he took in the rest of the people in the room. Natalia hesitated, automatically looking to Diana as the other woman had helped her to prepare for everyone else. At Diana's tiny nod, Natalia immediately went to the liquor cabinet, bringing out a bottle of Bruce's best and a glass. She set both in front of Arthur, barely catching his murmured thanks, before Bruce breezed into the room and took control. Natalia moved to the back corner of the room to settle in for the meeting.

"I hate to be rude, but why is she still here?" Clark was gesturing to her, and her gaze met Bruce's. She knew they all wouldn't let it go without the truth, especially not a reporter, but that didn't mean she was comfortable. As though sensing this, Bruce turned his attention to Clark.

"I trust her. She's more than welcome to stay, since she'll be helping us anyway."

"This is no situation for a civilian, Mr. Wayne. No matter how much you trust her." There was an imperious quality to Clark's tone, and it wiped any smile she may have held from her face.

"Then I suppose it's good that I'm no civilian." Her voice was a bit colder than she'd intended, but it managed to catch all their attention. Diana and Bruce both seemed sympathetic to her, Clark and Barry looked confused, and Arthur just seemed...proud. Shaking off her confusion for the last one, she stood a bit taller. "Suffice it to say, I'm just as qualified as any of you to be here. In some cases, more so." Silence reigned over the room as they all seemed to consider that. With a clearing of his throat, Bruce took command again, drawing all eyes but Arthur's, who continued to stare at her as he took swigs from the bottle. She ignored him, focusing on what Bruce had to say. The meeting seemed to drag, with Clark and Barry asking endless questions and Natalia refilling coffee several times. Arthur had finished the bottle long ago and was just twirling now. Finally, Diana suggested they all get some rest and continue tomorrow, much to Bruce's relief, and they began to file out. Natalia stayed to clean, knowing it would lead to too many questions by the cleaning staff. As she turned to leave, she collided with Arthur, giving a gasp as her hands moved up to defend herself. He gave a small smirk.

"Natalia. I figured I could walk you out, keep you safe and all that." She stepped back a bit, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart before something she regretted happened. Putting her professional smile back in place, she nodded.

"That's kind of you, Mr. Curry. Thank you." They headed to the elevator together in comfortable silence, and she moved to flag down a cab once they exited. He took her wrist gently, lowering it before anyone could stop.

"Come on, I can give you a lift." He was already pulling her gently towards the parking garage and she allowed it for a time. If this was someone Bruce wanted to work with, then he obviously trusted the man, and it was enough for her not to fight back. He led her to a simple enough looking truck, unlocking and opening the door for her. It didn't take long for him to drive her home, given how close she lived to her place of employment, and he even insisted on walking her to her door.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Curry. It was kind of you to bring me home." He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he nodded. She turned to head inside, stopped by a hand on her own. Turning, she watched as he dropped a kiss on her hand and gave a wink before returning to his truck, leaving to wonder just what sort of people Bruce had cobbled together.


	2. Chapter 2

They met every day for the next two weeks, with Bruce and Clark usually butting heads for command and the rest of them watching with amusement. Slowly but surely, they'd managed to figure out a separate location for their meetings, which was currently under construction on the Wayne dime. Now, as they shared dinner in Wayne Manor, Natalia couldn't help but smile at the companionship that already seemed to be forming.

"Hello Natalia." The familiar gruff voice of Arthur sounded next to her as he took a seat, a single glass of brandy in one hand. She glanced at him with that same small smile.

"Good evening, Mr. Curry."

"We've been over this. Just Arthur is fine." In spite of his somewhat harsh tone, she could see the humor in his gaze. Over the last couple weeks, she'd learned that despite how angry he always seemed, he had his moments of kindness that shone through.

"Right, sorry. Habit, I suppose." Natalia turned just in time to see Barry knock a pitcher off the table, her hand shooting out automatically. A purple mist zipped across the room, cradling the pitcher in air and keeping it from shattering. Silence reigned over the room as all eyes turned to her; Arthur and Barry with surprise, Bruce and Diana with resigned looks, and Clark with distrust. Standing slowly, Natalia kept her hand outstretched until she reached the pitcher, grabbing it and setting it back on the table carefully. The silence was beginning to press in on her and she cleared her throat. "Right, well...it's getting late..." She gave a single nod and hurried for the door, doing her best to keep her composure as she made her escape.

"Nat, wait." She ignored Bruce's call, giving Alfred a grateful look when she saw him waiting with her jacket. She paused only long enough to thank him, even more grateful for the lack of pity in his gaze. The cool air helped her clear her head, and she decided to walk for a bit before calling a cab. She didn't make it far before feeling the sensation of being watched. Ten steps after that, a hand grabbed her shoulder, startling her. Wrenching away, she spun to see Arthur with his hands up, tense as though she might attack him.

"Easy, tiger. I just wanted to make sure you were alright." As the adrenaline faded from her system, she slumped, sighing as she ran a hand through her red hair. He watched her movements carefully, but relaxed to the point that she was almost convinced he wasn't afraid of her.

"I'm...fine. Just need to get home." He nodded, stepping a bit closer to her. She held her breath as he reached for her hand, not looking away from his face even as he lifted her hand and brushed his thumb along it.

"Any reason you'd want to hide that from us?" And so began the questions. Natalia knew she would have to answer them at some point, but she'd been hoping it wouldn't be like this. His hand kept hers, gently pulling her back towards Wayne Manor.

"When Mr. Wayne hired me, he didn't know. Found out much the same way you all just did." She sighed. "I guess I always just felt...lesser, you know? I didn't immediately jump to helping people or saving lives. I just...kept my head down." They'd made it back to the front steps, and she was beginning to feel foolish. "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to being around people who'd understand." He nodded, still pulling her along back inside. Alfred offered for her jacket as though nothing had happened, but she could hear Clark's voice in the sitting room before they'd even entered. She stopped in her tracks, forcing Arthur to stop as well as she listened to their argument.

"And you didn't think we needed to know? She could be dangerous!" Clark sounded as angry as she'd ever heard him, and she couldn't really blame him.

"She's not. If anything, she's an asset." Bruce's voice was calm, though she could clearly hear the anger under the surface. She'd never wanted to cause a rift in the group, especially so early in it's formation.

"And how would you know? Do you even know what her limits are?" Arthur gave her hand a small tug, looking at her with concern. Releasing his hand, she raised her head and strode into the room, taking in the scene. Clark stood with his back to the door, Diana and Bruce facing him. Barry stood off to one side, looking awkward as he watched the fight. Bruce was already opening his mouth to answer when she spoke up.

"Because he interrogated me." All eyes snapped to her, and she resisted the urge to shrink back. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "You'll be lucky if you never experience an interrogation at Batman's hands. It's...damn near traumatic." Her voice was hoarse as she finished, and she watched as Bruce dropped his gaze. "However, I'm grateful to have Mr. Wayne as my employer and friend. I could ask for no one better." She felt Arthur come up behind her, noting how Clark's glare jumped to the large man.

"I don't see why we can't trust her. She didn't try to kill us yet." She looked up at Arthur, noting his dark smirk. "Weren't we just saying the other day we could use all the help we could get?" Several heads nodded, and Clark huffed.

"Who's going to keep her under control?" That ignited her anger, and she took a step towards him.

"If anyone here needs a keeper, it's you." He looked shocked at her accusation, and Bruce stepped in.

"We can't afford to be fighting each other if we're going to face larger threats." He glanced between the two of them, his warning look lingering on her. She stepped back again towards Arthur, dropping her gaze. "Now, if we're done...I believe there's dessert left to finish." That seemed to cut a fair amount of the tension, but Natalia couldn't help but wonder how long it would last.


	3. Chapter 3

As the days passed, Natalia continued her work at Wayne Enterprises, excusing herself from the activities of the group. Bruce had tried to convince her it would be okay, but she'd waved off his concerns, reminding him that she wasn't a teammate, just the administrative assistant. He'd stopped after some time, and she'd continued on as though nothing had happened. Diana and Bruce were really the only people she saw, since they both spent time around the Tower during the day. Her nights were spent at home, watching whatever happened to be on in sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt from college. On just such a night, a knock sounded on her door, and she hesitated. The team wasn't meeting tonight due to some charity event Bruce had to attend, so it could honestly be anyone. She opened the door, surprised to see Arthur on the other side with a backpack.

"Um, hello Arthur." He was giving her the smirk she'd come to expect from him as he leaned against the door frame. He nearly filled the entire doorway with his size, and she tucked her hair behind her ear self-consciously.

"Hey. You haven't been at the meetings lately." He arched a brow as she shrugged.

"Yeah, I haven't really been needed. Bruce takes care of most of the details now, and asks me for help during the day." He nodded slowly, seeming to really think over her words.

"Mind if I come in?" She hesitated before nodding, standing aside as he strode in. He deposited his bag gently onto the coffee table and settled onto her couch, stretching out a bit. She shut the door, moving to stand just in front of him. It had been so long since she had guests, she wasn't quite sure what to do. His smirk grew as he rummaged in his backpack, pulling out a bottle of wine and take out. "Got some forks and glasses?" Relieved, she nodded and hurried to grab them, returning quickly. He shifted on the couch to make room for her. She kept a bit of distance between them, handing him the glasses and setting the forks down. He unpacked what looked to be Italian, and the smell made her mouth water. He served her first, waiting until she'd taken her first bite before worrying about himself.

"This is really good, Arthur." She began to eat in earnest, surprised at how hungry she was. He gave a low rumble of a chuckle, eating his own food. The TV played in the background quietly, adding a strange but comfortable ambiance to their dinner. Natalia waited until she was nearly finished with her food to speak. "So, can I ask why you came over? Did you need something?" He took another bite, chewing slowly before finishing and setting his food down.

"You haven't been around much lately." It wasn't a question, and so she stayed quiet to see if he would answer hers. "Any reason you would avoid us? Besides, you know, that Kent guy." She dropped her gaze, poking at the food in her lap. It sounded so stupid out loud, that she'd been avoiding the reporter. Natalia wasn't fond of going in to have him treat her like some sort of bomb ready to go off at any moment. There was a few moments of silence between them before Arthur chuckled. "I know it's probably not in your nature, but maybe you should stand up to the guy. Wayne and Diana try, but nothing seems to take him down at all. He deserves a bit of a fall from grace." She gave a small smile, raising her gaze just a bit. He was giving her a small smile.

"I suppose I could try. If only to help the others, of course." Arthur gave a knowing look and a nod, standing and collecting the dishes. Waving off her protests, he took them to the kitchen, and she heard the distinct sound of water running. It felt weird, letting a guest do her dishes, but outside of physically forcing him away, there wasn't much Natalia could do. He finished quickly, coming back around and pulling her to her feet. To her surprise, he gave her a gentle hug and a pat on the head, before gathering his things and leaving. Natalia was left to think about not only their conversation, but his strange actions. Shaking herself, she made her way to bed, knowing she'd likely be going into their late meetings the next day.

"Miss Steele, could you please make arrangements for dinner tonight?" Bruce kept up appearances at the office, not that it mattered to her. Her stomach flipped with nerves over dealing with Clark that night, and what he might say or do. Bruce seemed to notice her distraction, moving to shut the door. "Natalia, are you alright? Has something happened?" She looked up in surprise, shaking her head quickly.

"No, nothing. I just...I was hoping I may rejoin your little...group, starting tonight." He was already nodding slowly, seeming to think it over.

"I don't see why not. Are you sure?" She gave a quick nod, and she could swear she saw relief in his gaze. A part of her wondered if Clark was being more trouble than Arthur had let on. "Great. We'll see you tonight, then. Will you be able to find the new place?"

"I don't know if it would be wise for me to just take a cab." Bruce gave a wry smirk, nodding.

"A fair point. I'll bring you with me after work. You'll just be a bit early." She nodded again, hesitating. "Was there something else?"

"May I take an extended lunch to go home and grab extra clothes? I don't much want to stay in work clothes tonight." He agreed, and she hurried off to complete her morning tasks early and get home. The day passed quickly, and all too soon she was sliding into Bruce's passenger seat, having changed into dark jeans, a simple tee, and boots. He sped off out of Gotham entirely, and Natalia realized she hadn't known just how far out they had put their base of operations. It was nearly twenty minutes before he pulled into what appeared to be an underground parking garage. Leading her inside, she looked around the new facility, smiling at how crisp and modern it was. There was a lab, a living area, a rather large computer, and a secondary garage. So far, the only vehicle she could see was the Batmobile, but she didn't know just how many would end up in there.

"Natalia, I wanted to ask you something before the rest of them showed up." She looked up at her friend. "Would you like to join the team? As a permanent member?" Her eyes widened and she took a moment to think about the offer.

"I'm not really a hero, though." Bruce gave a chuckle, shaking his head and guiding her to another part of the room. Lights came on as they approached, and she found versions of everyone's uniforms on mannequins. There was an extra one, modeled not too differently from Bruce's, that seemed to be in her size. She looked up at him in shock to see him smirking down at her.

"Better late than never, wouldn't you say?" Turning back to the uniform, she took in the details. There were small details done in purple, and she felt touched that he would go to such trouble.

"Did Lucius do this?"

"Yes. When I explained it to him, he seemed pretty eager to help." She spun and hugged her friend, not surprised when he hesitated before returning the gesture. "Should I take that as a yes?"

"I'd be happy to join." Pulling away, she couldn't stop smiling for the pride she felt. "I'll make you proud, Bruce."

"I know you will." He ruffled her hair and led her back to the main area, and as people filed in she fell back into the routine of bringing coffee and what snacks she found. Barry and Diana seemed happy to have her back, though Clark mostly ignored her. Arthur was late, true to form, but gave her a smile when he arrived. As Bruce announced her introduction into the team, everyone congratulated her, before they all got down to business.


End file.
